We first caught a glimpse of it as it began its ascent. We were returning from dinner, and to the left it hung behind the houses and buildings along the way, slipping behind a bank of clouds by the time we returned home. A little while later it appeared again, and I grabbed the camera and the tripod and went out into the front yard.
It was cold, but not unbearably so. Wrapped in scarves, bundled up to the ears, I stood on the porch looking up into the sky. There, behind the bare branches and emerging from the clouds, came the moon. Rising slowly above the horizon, it lit up the night. I snapped a few photos, but the moon stayed obscured behind the branches. I went back inside and waited for it to fly a bit higher.
Half an hour later, I went back outside. There she was, clear of the trees, and teased by clouds on either side of her. She looked magnificent, resplendent in her super-closeness. I stared up at her and focused on her face. It seemed as if the moon was pulsating, beaming light in waves, or my eyes were adjusting and readjusting to it – I could not tell which, but beneath the wavering light everything fell away.
I wanted to make a wish, I wanted to ask a question, but all that came to my mouth, almost inaudibly, was “Moon…†More of a whimper, the whisper of a plea, and then it was gone. Still I stared at the glowing orb above, soon to be shrouded in clouds, and my doubts and worries did not go away. Yet there, in the moonlight, in that moment, it was all right.
Tonight, we make our Spring wishes…
